You're a Jewel!

The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.     Zechariah 9:16 

The Bible gives us this unusual detail about the construction of the Lord's temple. "In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built." (I Kings 6:7). An unbelievable amount of scraping, hammering, chiseling had to be done on those mighty rocks that were used in the construction. But it was all done out of view and out of earshot of the temple site.

It's a little like the way God "dresses" us, fitting us for heaven. The apostle Peter reminds us that you and I are living stones, and we are being mined in the quarry of earth, a place of noise, chiseling, and clouds of dust. God is using our sufferings and afflictions to hone and shape us so we might fit perfectly into heaven's landscape, where there is "no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool." Where there is no suffering. No tears, pain, sorrow, or death. 

The Great Purpose of Christian Stewardship

1 Chronicles 16:23–36

Retired missionary Paul R. Lindholm begins a reflection on what he views as the overriding purpose of Christian stewardship—glorifying God—with a humorous vignette:

A church choir director asked a clerk in a music store for a copy of an anthem with the title, “The Glory of the Lord.” The clerk called to the person working in the storage shelves for a copy. Finding none, the clerk called down: “The Glory of the Lord” is out of print.

In print and in thought, the shekinah glory of our Lord does not have the prominence nor attention it should have.

The Grandparents' Crown

"Grandchildren are the crown of old men..." - Proverbs 17:6

Isn't it amazing how the normal conflicts in the parent-child relationship don't seem to be a problem with grandparents and grandchildren? Grandparents may have old-fashioned values, but they're loved and admired by their grandchildren.

What do you think of when you think of a beloved grandparent? Even hardened cynics often get misty-eyed when recalling memories of a grandparent, yet grandparents are often the forgotten victims of divorce and separation. In June of 2000, the Supreme Court defended the parents' right to restrict or cut off ties with the grandparents of their children. Such a sad state of mind.

Parents, let's do all we can to enhance the relationship between our children and their grandparents. It's part of their heritage that they need to understand. It's part of their identity that makes them whole. God's Word says, "Grandchildren are the crown of old men." If at all possible, don't deny them their crown.